I have a really good friend who grew up in Washington D.C. before she was transplanted to the southern state of Arkansas. She and her southern husband from Arkansas met in D.C. when they both worked for the FBI, married, and moved back to his hometown.
She and I were ‘soul sisters’ and yet so different. She was a for sure “Yankee” with her northern accent, her different mannerisms, her way of preparing food, and just her innate demeanor was so different from mine. I was born, bred, and reared and cultivated in Mississippi, Halleluiah! I am extremely proud and pleased with my Mississippi roots and my refinement as a Southern Woman. I love the slow southern drawl and some of the unique words and sayings and axioms that we use in our everyday conversations. Things like, “How ya Momma and em?” My mama used to say one of her cousins never ‘hit a lick at a snake’, he did not like to work. My grandmother said one of her brothers could ‘eat corn on the cob through a picket fence’, my aunt was always ‘blessing somebody’s heart’, and my grandaddy always said somebody named ‘Cooter Brown was drunk’.
Some things I believe we Southerners are born with are, we love to party and have fun, maybe dance a little two step while listening to Conway, but at the end of the party we come home with the one we went with. Oh, and we really like to look good because people seem to take us more seriously if we are put together with our “warpaint” and our teased-up hair.
We don’t fall short of trying to keep our bodies in shape but we’re not afraid to eat either. Knowing how to cook is not an option or a possibility for us Southern women. When you set down at my table you are full of fried chicken, creamed cheesy potatoes, scrunchy cornbread, and sweet tea and probably banana pudding.
Family is the most important and integral part of our lives. Don’t ever make the mistake of saying a cruel word about one of our children.
We’re not afraid to get dirty and do hard work. Most of us have worked or hoed a garden, shot a gun, or driven a tractor. These words are not just what makes up a country song. We know curse words are something that can be used to enhance a conversation but should not be relied on as the basis of our vocabulary. When we invite friends over, we have the best gossip and we do bless lots of hearts. We don’t mind being called old fashioned; we are happy to live the life we have. We surely know how much better life is when you live it in style.
Invite some kin and friends over, catch up on all the gossip, butter up some bacon dripping biscuits but be sure to have your face on and your hair teased, and y’all visit a spell, and holler if y’all need me. Bless your hearts!!
CRACKLIN CORNBREAD
½ cup of butter, half of it melted in an iron skillet, 2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix, ½ cup of flour, 1 ½ cups buttermilk, 2 beaten eggs, 1 cup cooked pork cracklins. Sometimes I put the cracklins in my small food processor and “on and off” grind a few times but leave them in small chunks. Mix all together and pour into a well heated iron skillet with the melted butter and cook for 30 minutes at 425*
